


Lost

by LeighJ



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Death, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Graphic Description, Loneliness, Plot Twists, Sex, Vaginal Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:44:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10980744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeighJ/pseuds/LeighJ
Summary: Arianna Locket is a woman who doesn't know how to make sense of her life. With new information coming to light about her world, she questions everything and understands nothing. Travel with Arianna as she relives her life and contemplates if it's all real. Rated M for mature scenes, swearing, and violence. You've been warned.





	1. Chapter 1

Arianna's stomach twisted tightly, crushing any and all food consumed earlier on in the day and threatening to throw it all back out. She frantically hid behind the brick wall she had been passing moments before, her head tilted just so. This enabled her to keep her eye out for the twin platinum blonde heads that she had spied moments before.

A large cluster of witches and wizards, old and young, passed in front of her, halting her mostly pathetic attempts at spying. With her patience rapidly decreasing, Arianna stretched onto her toes, her cold fingers gripping the rough brick as she continued her frenzied search with round, wide eyes.

Her stomach twisted tighter with a mix of fear and excitement at being seen. When she couldn't find who she had been looking for, she sank back onto her heels. The swarm of witches and wizards in front of her continued their day, merrily walking down the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley with their rosy cheeked children; presumably future Hogwarts students.

Arianna's eyes pinned and followed one such couple consisting of parent and child, analysing the brown haired girl who nearly tripped over herself to enter another store, most likely to purchase another school supply on the list issued to her. All around the girl, similar children beamed with excitement, their cheeks pink, their voices high with untamed excitement.

Arianna's eyes moved back to the brown haired girl's mother, she had stayed outside the store with other parents after handing over a handful of galleons and releasing their children to explore and purchase. She noticed how all of them: mother, and father, had shining eyes. They brimmed and lit up with pride, transforming their faces into something beautiful.

She wondered if her parents had ever looked at her like that. If their eyes had filled, their faces changing with the joy they felt for their child. She doubted it. Arianna remembered buying her school supplies with fear wrapped in her stomach, afraid she would act too child-like and upset her mother who always wore nothing but a stern frown for as long as Arianna could remember.

In fact, Arianna remembered feeling so unhappy that day, so trapped by her mother's conforming ways, that she had been desperately wishing that the weeks would hurry along so that she could leave for Hogwarts and escape for the whole year. Even over the holidays, Arianna didn't want to go home, but she knew her parents wouldn't stand for it.

Only children without parents didn't go home for the holidays. With a breathy sigh, one full of the pain of the past, Arianna turned to leave, releasing the brick wall she had been hiding behind. A deep knotting sensation twisted in her gut as her emerald eyes connected with steel-grey. Her skin flushed, hot and cold all at once and goose bumps broke, dancing across her skin.

Arianna thought that she wouldn't have the willpower, or strength, to rip her gaze from his once she had found it. But somehow, from sheer curiosity, she managed to swing her gaze from his magnetic one and instead to the boy at Draco Malfoy's side. He was as excited and happy as all the other children Arianna had seen this morning.

His small face was eager, pinched with excitement that looked barely contained. His hand was wrapped in Draco's larger one, which surprised Arianna because Draco wouldn't have been seen dead holding his parent's hand at that age. The younger boy pulled on his father's hand, digging his feet into the floor and trying to get his father's attention.

It seemed that he wanted to enter the store they had just gone past, and wanted to buy school supplies that he would need to aid him in learning at a school that she had once helped to destroy. That his own father had helped to destroy. His grandparents too. Arianna pressed her lips together, watching the boy, who watched his father, who kept his eyes on Arianna.

She was almost mesmerised by the boy: Scorpius, she believed he had been named. He was simply the spitting image of Draco. Arianna traced her eyes over his platinum blonde hair, steel-grey eyes and pale skin. All his father's and grandparent's attributes carried down from the Malfoy bloodline to their descendant's. Arianna found not one similarity to his mother: Astoria Greengrass.

How unnerving, she thought to herself, her eyes sliding over him as he got more frustrated with his father. He looked exactly like Draco the day that Arianna had met him, so many years ago in the dining room of Hogwarts. Her younger eyes had glued to him with the same fascination she now looked at his son with.

A small, inconsequential piece of information floated over Arianna's mind, informing her that Draco and Astoria had divorced a year ago. Or at least, she thought it had been them. She couldn't be sure due to her not following the news of the wizarding world. She had wanted to keep a small eye on Draco, and his life, but couldn't find the will to socialise with the world to do so.

Arianna jolted as she realised how intensely Draco was staring at her as if deliberating whether to walk over to her, to introduce his son and make small talk. He even took a step in her direction, much to the chagrin of his son, who huffed and frowned. Arianna panicked and reeled back, dreading him coming any closer and wishing he would at the same time.

Draco's cheeks flushed but Arianna could tell it wasn't an embarrassment. Maybe anger, or resentment. She swallowed tightly and shook her head, apologising silently. Draco nodded so tight and quick that Arianna almost missed it. Her lips turned up into a wobbly smile before she turned and walked as fast as she could away from him, and his son.

She walked blindly for a few minutes before finding herself behind another brick wall. Arianna fell into it, letting her body mould into the hard structure and pressing her bones into the jagged edges. She realised her cheeks were hot, her chest heaving and her breathing erratic. Parents gave her bewildered looks, gripped their children's arms and steered them away.

Arianna realised she must look like one of the craziest witches in the community. It didn't help that a large majority of witches and wizards that looked at her knew about her, and her parents; their past. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and swept her free hand down her robes, trying to collect herself.

She tried to gather her thoughts as she prepared to apparate away. She wasn't in the mood today to be splinching herself. She focused her mind on home, picturing her favourite place and only sanctuary in the world. She took one last deep breath before she felt the familiar pulling behind her navel, sending her through the air.

Despite calming herself moments earlier, she couldn't help the image that popped into her head just as she apparated away: Scorpius Malfoy with her green eyes. As soon as Arianna arrived back to her small and lonely apartment, she noticed _the_ book, face down on her breakfast bar. It was nearly complete, its thick pages weighing heavy on the left side.

The intense, burning desire to complete it overwhelmed her as soon as she spotted it. The push to complete it left her rigid and tense, standing in silence next to her front door. Keys and a grocery bag in hand, Arianna was unsure of her next move. Why was she so eager to finish it? She wondered.

With her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, Arianna placed her keys into the bowl next to the front door and moved across the living room into her small kitchen. All the while her eyes lingered on the book. The book that had destroyed her life; forced her to quit her job; become a recluse. No friends; no social life.

She tried to shake away her bitter thoughts as she put her groceries away and filled the kettle. Her gaze continued to linger and burn imaginary holes into the pages as she busied herself with making a cup of tea and cleaning up the mess after her. Not that it made much difference, she thought with a grimace.

Her eyes roamed around her small apartment and she cringed internally at the state of it. When she had first moved out of the wizarding community to live in a muggle rented apartment, she had hated every moment of it. She had been young, tarred by the things she had done, and alone.

Renting an apartment and decorating it had been different to what she would have done, had she continued to live in her community. She would have inherited her parent's estate, or his… She shook her head, banishing the thoughts. Regardless, she had taken a while to adapt to her new surroundings and didn't take to cleaning easily.

Her parents had raised her with house elves who had done all cleaning, washing, cooking and general maintenance. To learn how to do all those things by herself had been hard, but over time she had taken great pride in her clean and beautiful home, decorated in light and airy colours. Then it had gone downhill again after she found the books.

Sometimes she still washed up, sometimes she even fluffed her sofa cushions. But she no longer polished, or swept, or vacuumed or wiped down her surfaces. Her surroundings were as cluttered and messy as she felt inside, becoming the mirror to her soul in many ways. Arianna sighed, realising just how depressed she really was.

Her life had become meaningless, filled with long hours and empty days. She spoke to no one, did nothing and it was awful. Sometimes she could swear that just waking up felt fake as if the world around her wasn't real. Her surroundings looked hazy on these days, fuzzing at the edges as if they were a simple projection of her imagination.

Arianna tried to pull herself out of her dark thoughts. She had been through a lot. She would never give up on her life, no matter how empty she felt. She owed it to herself to live a long, if not happy, life. With her cup of tea in hand, she snatched the book up, despising the pages but needing to finish them and curled up on her dishevelled sofa.

She placed her steaming cup on her coffee table where other empty, cold cups sat, both dirty and tea stained. With a heavy sigh, she took a look at the front cover: _Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows._ With a resounding slam, Arianna had practically thrown the book onto the coffee table, leaving it upside down and closed hazardously.

She scowled deeper at the crinkled pages. Boiling tea dribbled out of her favourite tea cup, the only one she ever washed up, from the violent landing. Arianna watched with detached interest as the line of tea, cool now on the glass, ran across the surface and bled into her forgotten morning newspaper. A moving picture flickered on the front page.

Her chin trembled as she looked at the ruined tower blocks, the rubble of broken walls spread across the wet and muddy ground. Fire rose dangerously from the debris and dead, mangled bodies were strewn across broken glass. Arianna didn't want to look anymore. But she couldn't stop her eyes from seeking out the headline.

**The destruction of Hogwarts School for Witch Craft and Wizardry: thirteen years today**.

Wet dripped down her cheeks, curling over her chin and dripping onto her clasped hands. Arianna roughly scrubbed her hands over her face. It wasn't real! She screamed to herself. It was never real. None of it. Her life and so many others were a big, fat lie and it made her so, so angry.

Mostly because she didn't have anyone to talk to, anyone to confide in without fearing being admitted to St Mungos. Arianna felt trapped, lonely and didn't know what to do with the knowledge that had ruined her life. Her head fell heavy against the back of her sofa, a dull ache forming almost instantly.

Her mind wandered to the day her life had changed. She hadn't meant to find the books. She had been in London, in the muggle world, because she was fed up of the sharp looks and whispers she received in Diagon Alley, even all these years later. It was so humiliating to be thirty-one years old and continue to be looked down upon as if she was still the young girl who had made so many mistakes.

Being a closet bookworm when she was younger, in her adult life, she did nothing but hoard books. She had found a bookstore named 'Water Stone's' and immediately scanned the rows of books, until one particular, and the familiar book caught her eye.

_Harry Potter._

Arianna's heart had been thumping beyond healthy levels when she had approached the counter and asked, with a trembling voice, what the book 'Harry Potter' was about. The woman had made her feel more nervous when she stared at Arianna as if she had just sprouted two more heads.

"You don't know who _Harry Potter_ is?!" She had screeched with indignation.

Arianna flushed, feeling as if she was missing something pivotal and feeling stupid because of it. "I sort of do-"

The girl had cut her off, completely oblivious to Arianna, who had desperately strived for patience; reminded herself that she couldn't use magic in the presence of a muggle, much less on one. Arianna had tuned out the muggle girl after so long but raised her eyebrows in surprise when she exclaimed, "he's one of the most famous people in the history of books, ever!"

"Well yes, he's famous, but not beca- "

The muggle girl cut her off. "Have you never heard of J.K Rowling?"

"J.K Rowling?" Arianna repeated the unfamiliar name, once again feeling as if she was missing something majorly important.

"Oh my god," the muggle had whispered under her breath, clearly horrified.

On and on she had continued, mercilessly going into excruciating detail about who J.K Rowling was, what Harry Potter was, how many books there were and what happened in each and every one of them. Apparently, there was also films. When Arianna had finally gotten away from the muggle, she had hunted down all the books, and the films.

Some titles, mainly all of them, confused her. Some made sense to her, from bits and pieces she had heard in Hogwarts when she was younger. It was usually centred around Harry Potter and his two best friends, who had created _the_ golden trio.

When she had gotten home she had discovered that the films featured the real faces of familiar faces: Ron Weasley, Harry himself, Hermione Granger, Dumbledore and even _him._

Voldemort.

The first thing she thought was that Harry Potter had sold his life story to a Muggle Author who had twisted it to be presented in a Fantasy fashion so that Arianna's world and her secrets were kept safe. How else could every single aspect of their lives so accurately be displayed for the muggle world to see?

So on that theory, she had contacted Harry Potter and had waited a good few months, at which point she was already spiralling into insanity, newly unemployed because of her new found obsessions, and living off her parent's forgotten fortune, which she had hated before he replied to her owl.

Of course, _Harry Potter_ was much too busy being a war hero for him to reply without delay. When she had delicately asked him if he had spoken to any muggles, particularly authors, of the things that had happened in his young adult life, he had become positively unhinged.

She always did think he was a smudge insane, not that she was in a position to criticise at that point, but the way that he had chucked her out of his Auror office that day finalised her theories. His shouted statements followed her all the way out the door.

"You think after everything I went through; I'd want to sell my story to a muggle?! With the way the wizarding world treats me already?!"

It was clear to Arianna that no, he hadn't sold his story to the muggle J.K Rowling. So after researching what muggles called 'the internet' she searched every piece of information she hadn't already gathered from the books and films, happening across many disturbing images of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter in a positively vile embrace.

Even worse, she happened to find a horrid abomination named "FanFiction" that had Draco and Hermione Granger put into some rather a stomach turning erotic stories. As if Hermione Granger could do anything for Draco Malfoy. Did these so called "fans" know him at all?

Arianna finally came to the only conclusion that she could, and that was: magic had occurred. There was no other way apart from to accept the fact that this woman, J.K Rowling, had created her books in the muggle word and somehow won the hearts of so many, who had loved Harry Potter so much, and had hoped and prayed that it was all real, so hard, that they had unknowingly manifested Arianna's world.

The world in which she believed to be firm, and real, and there. Except it wasn't. How could it be? The proof was on her dirty coffee table, in black and white. Her life was a lie. Arianna's eyes travelled from the ceiling as her left arm lifted, her trembling fingers from her other hand moving to pull down her long sleeve.

A dreadful unease rolled around her stomach at the sight of the fading dark mark engrained into her arm, burned deeply into her flesh. Was this not real? Was the searing heat in her arm, when Voldemort pressed his wand into it, not real? Was the look of pure delight on her parent's faces not real? The twist in her gut? The fear in her heart?

Her body slowly slid down onto her sofa cushions, her legs coming up to her chest where she proceeded to curl into herself. She was so alone, and she didn't know how to think or feel. She had no family left, they were sent straight to Azkaban after the war, no job because her life had been torn apart by a hideous truth, and she had never had real friends.

Apart from one pale, blonde haired boy... She rapidly shook her head. No. Twisting onto her back, Arianna sighed at the ceiling. The worst and probably the shallowest aspect of it all was that she had never been mentioned in the books, or seen in the films. Her family's name was never mentioned amongst Voldemort's followers, or any circle of purebloods.

It was like they had never existed. Like her parents never existed, like the Locket blood line never existed, as if they didn't even matter as if she was as worthless as a muggle: unrecognised and forgettable. There was no trace of her anywhere and despite the relationship she had shared between her parents near to the end, the hatred that had stained their love, it pained her to learn how inconsequential their existence was because that was all they had ever lived for.

All they had wanted out of life was to know they had galleons, titles, respect and an heir to take on their precious name, spread their pure and righteous blood. If they could see the things she had learnt, if they could see that their name was common and worthless, the shock of it all would send them keeling over into their graves.

And so Arianna was left to think that if their name was nothing, their power nothing, their blood status nothing, then why was she here? What was she doing here, on this earth? Why had she suffered the loss of her parents? The fear under Voldemort's leadership? The heartbreak of Draco Malfoy? She groaned, hand flying to cover her face.

She didn't know where she belonged.


	2. Chapter 2

"Crucio!"

Arianna's eyes turned down sharply, her edges of her gaze blurring from hot tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. The muggle-born witch in the centre of the room forced out another blood curling, excruciating scream that turned Arianna's insides and sent broken goose bumps along the back of her neck.

From the corner of her blurred eye, she noticed the tick in Draco's jaw as he strained to keep his eyes on the barbaric scene before him. Angelina Locket, Arianna's mother, gripped Arianna's hair, forcing her head up and her eyes on the bleeding witch.

Arianna repressed a cry of pain and flexed her fingers, catching the site of her chipped and crudely bitten fingernails before she curled them tightly into a fist, digging all of her nails sharply into the palm of her hands.

Her mother, whose long, mahogany brown hair tickled Arianna's shoulder kept a painfully tight hold on Arianna's hair as she leant into her left ear. Arianna noticed Draco's large hand fall back to his side as if he had reached out to her. _Help me_ , she begged silently.

"Watch and learn," her mother hissed.

This time, a tear slipped down Arianna's cheek as she watched Voldemort continue his torture. The tear was warm and it tracked right the way down her face, curving over her gaunt cheek bone and collecting on her chin where it splashed to the floor and left a tiny splatter pattern on her boot. Arianna didn't want to watch and she certainly didn't want to learn.

The witch on the ground caught Arianna's eye and their gazes locked as the girl screamed again, blood obscuring most of what Arianna thought were pretty features and matting her ginger hair to her neck. "Please," she begged.

Arianna felt more tears fall. She quickly wiped them away before Voldemort or even her parents tortured her for her sympathy for the 'mud-blood' not that she ever called muggle borns that. At least not anymore. What a disgusting word, and a disgusting notion. Couldn't they all see that her blood was red?

Couldn't they see it spilling out of her wounds, splashing onto the hardwood floor? Couldn't they see at all? Because she could see, and she didn't think she would ever stop seeing this girl's blood. It was filling Arianna's vision and making her head swim. Red. So, so red. Not brown, not dirty, or contaminated, just red.

She wanted to scream it, to proclaim that she didn't believe in this shit anymore. She wanted out. But she was a coward and her shouting didn't go further than her tired and tortured mind. With one final spell and a point of his wand, Voldemort performed the most unforgivable curse.

With a laugh, he walked away, stepping into the pool of blood that had seeped from the girls tortured body. Arianna quickly bowed her head as he passed, as did the other Death Eaters. She watched as his bloodied feet left red footsteps as he moved, his snake, Nagini, slithering beside him.

A deep hate and malice raised within her, causing her to dig her nails even tighter into the skin of her palms, repressing the need to do or say something that would get her killed. When he left the room, the crowd dispensed and her mother finally released her hair, leaving behind a stinging scalp that made Arianna's eyes water anew.

Her gaze lifted from her feet to the broken and battered body in the centre of the room. The horror of the girl's final moments was etched onto her face. A sob broke from Arianna's chest and she quickly pressed her hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the noise and the swirling vortex of emotions inside her.

She kept her mouth covered as she continued to cry, desperately wanting to go and close the eyelids of the girl who was no older than herself, who had deserved none of this. Mud-blood burnt into her forehead, blood oozing from the burn, she looked like a rag-doll, a child's plaything.

Broken, unloved and thrown away when she was no longer fun to play with anymore. Suddenly, a pair of arms enveloped Arianna. She didn't turn away because she knew who the arms belonged to. She knew the scent that wrapped around her, comforting her. She cried into Draco's shoulder, her own shoulders shaking as he held on tighter.

She grabbed at his back and shoulders, trying her hardest to mould her body with his. She found comfort where he laid no judgement for her tears.

"She was so young!" Arianna wailed.

"I know," he soothed.

"She didn't deserve it!"

"I know, shh."

She cried for a while longer into Draco's shoulder until his shirt was wet and snotty. Her thoughts stayed on the dead body in the room, as that was all it remained to be: a body. She so badly wanted to show the girl the respect she deserved by closing her eyes, or burying her. Informing her parents, something. Anything.

It angered Arianna that the young girl couldn't even have peace in her death. She pulled away slowly, her cries tiny hiccups. She hesitantly raised her eyes to Draco's who lifted a hand to tuck a lock of her fire red hair behind her ear. Her eyes nervously darted around the room to find it was empty.

Before anyone came back, she hurried over to the girl on the floor, gently closing her eyelids and praying that she found peace. As she pulled her wand from her pocket to perform a cleaning spell, Draco's arms hooked underneath her armpits, gently lifting her as he looked around him continuously.

"Hurry, we don't want anyone to notice our pity," he murmured softly as he moved them from the room that stunk of blood, death and evil; gently shut the doors behind them to hide the body from view.

That was the first time Arianna noticed his face was as wet as hers, the tracks shining softly under the moonlight that streamed through the windows and down to where they stood. White hot anger lanced across Arianna's body.

"Don't you dare!" She screamed at him.

Draco stared at her in surprise, his eyes widening and mouth slightly gaping. This was the most emotion she had shown in days, she knew. She hadn't left her guest room here in Malfoy Manor since her forced arrival and only did so if Voldemort ordered meetings or her parents threatened her.

"Don't what?!" He shouted back.

He looked further surprised at his tone of voice and Arianna realised Draco had been almost symmetrical when it came to showing emotion in the past few days as she had. No emotion, no human contact or conversation, and only leaving his room when required to do so. He looked pleased to be showing some sort of humanity, even if it was in the form of anger.

"Don't you dare pretend like you cared about that girl!"

"How dare you accuse me of not caring about the torture of another human being!"

"She was a _mud blood_!" Arianna spat the dirty word. "You didn't give a shit and don't pretend you did!" She poked him hard in the chest. "I bet you loved every second, you sadistic, worthless piece of shit!" She screamed wildly, recklessly.

A storm of anger swept across Draco's sharp cheekbones as he very suddenly grabbed up both of Arianna's arms and shook her so hard that her hair whipped across their shoulders. "I did not enjoy that! I do not enjoy this! I _hate_ this! I hate everything that is happening under _his_ rule. I hate the side I picked, I hate that my parents are cowards and I HATE that you, _you_ of all people think that I could enjoy something as disgusting, vile and fucked up as what we just witnessed!"

Their combined harsh pants were all that could be heard for moments after Draco's outburst. His fingers were biting into her flesh. She knew bruises were forming and that they were going to be raw and ugly. Arianna didn't know what to say or do, how to break the tension that was smothering them. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out were sharp breaths of anger.

Suddenly, Draco released her arms and whispered so quietly she almost didn't catch it, "Did you see her blood? It was so-"

"Red."

He nodded and that was it, the tension bled out of them and they both physically deflated until Arianna collapsed against Draco's chest and Draco had to support them both against the wall. Both Arianna and Draco were unsure where Voldemort and the Death Eaters had disappeared to.

Half the time, being the youngest of the followers, they were left behind to guard the mansion. During this time, they never spoke to each other or even stayed in the same room as each other. They were lucky that everyone had left and they were the only people around, apart from the portraits and the house elves, because they both would have been killed for the way they had just behaved.

Especially Draco who had outright admitted that he didn't want to be part of this side anymore. Draco suddenly shifted and Arianna groaned at being dislodged from the comfy position, where she had been drifting off after many days of four-hour sleep cycles.

"Follow me," Draco whispered.

Without questioning, unbelievably mentally and physically exhausted, Arianna silently followed after Draco down the familiar corridors of Malfoy Manor, ignoring the sharp pang as memories flooded her brain and played before her eyes, stinging them with long ago happiness when the sun shone and the world was warm.

They walked amongst many portraits of previous Malfoy relatives who gave them dirty looks and whispered insults at them for their sympathies for the 'mud-blood'. Arianna's stomach churned at every insult, ever snide comment and dirty look. What if they told someone? What if Voldemort was informed? Then it would be them on the floor: broken rag dolls.

A creaking door made Arianna snap back into reality. The large silver D, set into the oak, decorated with entwined emerald snakes and the Slytherin crest, made her belly turn over in the excitement that pulled her from her sleepy state for a moment. It was an old excitement, felt by a young girl who at one time in her life had butterflies just looking at that door, that decoration, the very same initial.

"Why are we going to your bedroom?" Arianna whispered.

Despite her nervous question and the onslaught of sexual memories, she continued to walk into his room, listening to him gently shut the door behind her. Arianna's eyes travelled the space, noticed not a lot had changed from the last time she was here. In fact, nothing had changed. The same old desk, quill and parchment in exactly the same place.

Same rug, same hangings on the wall, same heavy, rich silk curtains and of course, the same elf-made bed. This was obnoxiously decorated with emerald green cushions, the Slytherin crest its decoration predictably. Large, goose down feather pillows in the same egg shell white. Same rich brown chest at the base of the bed, with a stitched in seat and golden pins.

Arianna had to admit, the thing she favoured most in Draco's room was the heavy, luxuriously silky, emerald throw across the end of his bed. She was most pleased to find it still there and found herself stroking her fingers along it, a delicate shiver running down her spine. It was unbearably soft against her creamy skin, she remembered clearly.

The feel of it beneath her as Draco pulled all the way out of her before forcefully entering her swollen and wet muscles again, extracting a loud, toe curling scream of delight from her puffy and pale pink lips. The way it slid and fell from her fingers as she tried with all her might to grip it when Draco had put her on all fours and disappeared between her thighs, where his hands had a bruising grip; his dangerously wicked tongue caressing her folds.

The silk wrapping around her legs as she watched the large ball of white light grow larger... Arianna quickly placed herself on the bed, refusing to delve any more into her own memories. Her eyes peeked up at Draco who was watching her intently. He cleared his throat as she caught him looking and looked away quickly before locking eyes with her once more.

She squirmed under his gaze but refused to be the first to look away. "I brought you here to sleep. You need it and I thought you'd be most comfortable in here. As it's very," he coughed, eyes finally breaking their hold on Arianna's. "Familiar."

At first, she protested but her body was already sinking into his plush covers, her muscles unwinding, her eyes drifting. Draco insisted she get under the covers and she did, her eyes stinging when she finally closed them. She didn't know what Draco did after she climbed into bed. All she knew was as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Arianna's eyelashes fluttered open slowly. The after effects of sleep in her eyes made her adjustment to the light in the room difficult. She groaned softly, reaching to rub the heel of her hands across her eyelids. When her hands landed back on the bed, she rolled onto her stomach, her palm sliding beneath her cheek to act as a makeshift pillow.

She yawned softly, looking at the door of her bedroom and realising she was in _her_ room. Not Draco's. She groaned for the second time, burying her face into her pillows before rolling once again onto her back and looking at the ceiling.

She had to stop dreaming all her memories. Why couldn't she have normal dreams? Or even weird ones that didn't make sense and she forgot as soon as she woke up? Why memories? Memories of him. Memories she was trying so hard to forget.

**_Thirteen years ago._ **

"This is absolutely ridiculous! I don't want to get married!" Draco fumed as he paced his room, dressed in nothing but a towel.

Arianna groaned, sprawled on her back and staring at the low slope of Draco's ceiling. "I know! You haven't stopped saying it for an hour," she drawled.

He scowled at her, continuing his frantic pacing. After a moment, Arianna began to frown. She, her parents: Angelina and Duncan, Draco, and Draco's parents: Lucius and Narcissa, had dined together earlier on in the evening, to celebrate the return of the Dark Lord and his upcoming victory.

Arianna had expected as much: she knew her parents were big worshippers. They were open about their love for him. They never lied, which Arianna had to give them a little respect for. Although she couldn't share their passion for the man who destroyed the lives of many. Of course, she could never say that out loud.

She was a pureblood Slytherin; it would be shameful for her to admit she didn't want to be part of Voldemort's followers. She only kept her mouth shut in fear of being cast away; from her parents, despite their sometimes vicious behaviour towards her, Draco and her life, no matter how shitty it was.

But she wasn't scared of being killed. She didn't fear death. She did, however, find Lucius Malfoy rather amusing when he spoke of the Dark Lord, as he always seemed to sweat or stammer. No one had ever asked Arianna's opinion and her parents just seemed to assume she wanted to devote herself to Voldemort as much as they did.

Did she hell. Despite her initial assumptions, there was no mention of he-who-should-not-be-named. Only her parents and Draco's parents plan on pushing the two into an arranged marriage. Both Draco and Arianna had choked on their food, panicked eyes finding each other.

The main reason being for the last three weeks they'd been at it like rabbits and thought they were being called out. But no, their parents wanted them to wed and by the sounds of it: soon. Then to get on with bearing the first child that would be a Locket-Malfoy, one of the best 'statuses' to have, according to them.

It would be a pureblood, of course, with pureblood ancestors on both sides, dating back century's. Not to mention more money than Harry Potter. Draco and Arianna would receive the Malfoy Manor to continue the legacy of their names and Draco would receive a share in all Lucius's galleons and work for him, not that Arianna really knew how he got his galleons or had any inkling as to what his job was.

At first, she was as horrified as Draco. It would be complete madness to get pregnant and try to start a family, raising a child in the middle of a war. But after they had retreated to Draco's room and he took a shower, she couldn't stop thinking just how good of an idea it really was. At least to marry Draco. They had been best friends from the mere age of four.

They attended school together, had their own inside jokes, understood each other's body language and emotions. She'd recently lost her virginity to him and, not that she'd admit it to anyone but herself, she'd been in love with him since she was thirteen. Now, lying here listening to Draco declare how much he didn't want her was killing her.

"What's up?" The bed dipped as Draco sat beside her, the back of his palm rubbing across her cheek bone.

She closed her eyes for a brief second, enjoying his skin on hers and the warmth that seeped into her from his touch. She shook her head softly, sighing and fidgeting a little to get comfy.

"Come on, I know something's wrong. What is it?" He whispered close to her ear.

Delicate shivers ran softly down her spinal column, goose bumps erupting across her exposed flesh and her nipples tightening. She slowly opened her eyes, locking automatically with Draco's. She swallowed softly and sat up, her hand cupping his face. He smiled softly and leant into her hand, his own hand falling from her face to cup the back of her neck, sending a new round of shivers down her spine.

"Make love to me," she whispered.

Her eyes betrayed her nervousness, despite her strong and unwavering voice. She knew this would be the last time, knew he wouldn't want her after she told him how much he meant to her; how much she needed him. She knew for certain he'd go running the moment she spoke the three words weighing heavy on her heart.

He groaned low in his chest, his lips clashing with hers in a desperate and wet kiss. A mewl came from Arianna's, her hands locking into his hair and pulling him down over her body as his lips continued to slant over hers. His hands were tender against her neck, her cheeks, in her hair. The small actions over sensitised her body, making just the brush of his hand on her thigh almost physically painful.

Arianna movements grew desperate as her small hands tugged at his towel, trapped between her body and his. She wanted him inside her, wanted the powerful connection that bonded two human beings together. His breaths were ragged against her neck, his hands cupping her face and hip bone tightly. She could feel his ring crushing her cheek bone, but she didn't care.

Her lack of oxygen made her head fuzzy as he pressed her down with all his weight, but she didn't care. Didn't care about anything or anyone, but this one boy who turned her life upside and held her in pieces when she was broken. The boy who calmed and soothed her when she worried herself sick, or dreamt of the upcoming battle, the end of the peace and world she knew.

She didn't know where they would be in eight months, didn't even know if anyone of them would be alive in eight months. She was fed up of being ruled by unseen forces and a future that was not here yet. She only wanted Draco, and his love, and his touch, and she wanted it now.

"Easy," he whispered softly.

Arianna took a deep, shuddering breath and realised she had begun to cry. She didn't want Draco to see, didn't want to explain herself right now and destroy this perfect, wonderful moment. Her last moment with him. She nodded in agreement against his shoulder, letting him pull her up as he began to remove her top.

She conspicuously dried her eyes with the cotton as she helped, before removing the item completely and dropping it to the floor. Draco had his arms clasped around her in moments, undoing her bra with a small flick of the wrist. Her bra quickly joined her top before Draco sat back and looked at her.

It was only at that moment did she realise her chest was heaving, her eyelashes trembling. His hands rose slowly as if he was afraid to scare her off with sudden movements. They sat firmly on her small hips when he finally did touch her, his gentle fingers skimming up and down the sides of her body, brushing the swell of her breasts.

Arianna's eyes wanted nothing more than to flutter closed and enjoy this moment, lie back and wither in pleasure at his achingly strong, warm hands touching and marking her as his. But her eyes didn't dare leave his face; couldn't look away from the fascination and the pure, raw lust painted there.

Her heart squeezed as she watched his eyes burn trails across her body. She could see the love in his gaze; his face. She could feel it in hands, but he would never say it because he would never realise it. She knew this, she always had, but she fought it. Tonight, she wasn't going to fight it.

She'd had enough; she was tired and so desperately wanted to give into a love he couldn't provide for her. Draco's eyes looked up, connecting with hers as his thumbs brushed her nipples. A shock rippled through her, followed by her quiet gasp. He smirked to himself, his hands and thumbs running across her belly, towards her pyjama shorts.

Arianna couldn't take her eyes off him, couldn't stop looking at his flawless skin, his glowing silver eyes in the dark or his ridiculously blonde hair. She loved him so much it physically hurt and she knew she had to tell him in the morning but right here, in what was left with her time with Draco, she would pretend he loved her in the same heart-wrenching way.

His thumbs hooked into her shorts and panties, pulling them down together and removing them together. Laid bare in front of him, Arianna's heart began to bounce against her rib cage, her pulse fluttering. She had been nude in front of Draco a few times now but her reaction to his hungry hands and eyes never changed.

There was always a catch in the back of his throat that transformed into a growl deep in his chest. Before he gripped her hard and pushed into her with such raw power she couldn't help but scream. This time, however, the catch was there, but the rest wasn't. There was no desperate thrusting, no back scratching or screams.

There was simply Draco removing his towel to add to Arianna's discarded clothes before he lowered himself onto her, only balancing a minimal amount of his weight so that their skin was touching. Her breasts against his chest, his hips in hers, the one thing she desired against her aching and wet centre.

He stroked her hair softly, his fingertips running along the column of her throat and her bare shoulders. Arianna released a tight breath as he stroked his fingers along her scalp, her arms wrapped around his cool neck and hand buried in the strands of his white-blonde hair.

A breathy moan passed her tingling lips as Draco pressed into her wetness, slow and gentle, his lips on her neck and collar bones. His thrusts were slow, steady and rhythmic. His hands continued to touch her, love her, and worship her. Her hands returned the favour, her eyes prickling with tears at the sheer intensity of emotion balled inside her.

It continued to grow and expand with Draco's thrusts, her nose buried in his hair, inhaling his scent every time she took a ragged breath or let out a long moan. The pace they had set was so deliciously slow, the build of her pleasure and emotions were ten times stronger than anything she'd ever experienced with Draco, or in her life.

They breathed each other's name repeatedly, arms clinging together for dear life and sweat making their bodies slippery. Draco's silk throw at the bottom of his bed had clung to her legs and his, causing Draco's movements to become a little jagged and less paced. Arianna believed at one point she was looking down on them, as the ball inside her grew and burnt deep in her belly.

They looked so beautiful together, more beautiful than she had ever realised. Both with pale, flawless skin. Slim, soft bodies that wrapped and fit together like a puzzle piece. Her shocking red hair spilt across his black pillow cases like spilt blood across a dark pavement. Her eyes were as wide as his silvery-grey ones that were so different, and unique.

With a startling jolt, Arianna felt herself fall back into her own body, like when you fall off a kerb in your dreams and wake with a start. Before suddenly, her body exploded once more, flying apart at the seams. Her emotions ripped her apart from the inside out, pressing down on her heart and her head and weighing her down, rooting her to the bed.

Tears fell from her eyes, sliding across her rouged, hot cheeks and bleeding into her hair. Draco followed her experience, the feel of his essence pouring inside her even more overwhelming than her own orgasm. For a moment they both panted for breath, Arianna quietly crying. Draco pressed a long kiss to her chest, exactly where her heart was.

Her breath caught in her throat in surprise, a fresh round of hot tears pouring from her eyes. She'd never experienced a love so tender from a boy so blinded. Draco settled his head on her belly, her fingers sliding through the messed strands of his hair and his warm and sweaty scalp. Her eyes watched the ceiling as he stroked her thighs and sighed contentedly.

When she drifted off, her smile was bittersweet.


	4. Chapter 4

Arianna took a deep, ragged and forced breath as she walked through the wrought iron gates. Her feet led her up the stone path and upon a set of doors, she hadn't seen in many years. She raised her hand, her bottom lip quivering in fear. She noticed her hand was trembling too, and forced her fingers to curl into a fist.

With a strangled swallow and a racing pulse, she knocked. Her heart felt as if it had dropped to her stomach the moment her small, pale fist connected with the door. There was no going back now, she would have to face him. Face their past, their reality and overall: the truth. It was the time she told someone and she didn't trust anybody else but him.

As the seconds stretched before her, agonisingly slow, Arianna deliberated apparating out of there. She clutched her bag tightly to her side, weighed down with seven books and eight DVDs. Seven books and eight DVD's that would change the lives of all witches and wizards. But she had to start with one.

The latch lifted on the door and Arianna's stomach twisted uneasily. The moment Draco's form appeared and the door opened, Arianna's heart stopped. She felt seventeen again, with sweaty palms, a racing heart and butterflies in her stomach. She caught her trembling lower lip between her teeth before releasing it and pressing her lips together.

Draco's eyes connected with hers, the shock rippling across them as they moved and looked over her, from the roots of her hair to her toes. She knew she had changed; she had changed a lot. When Draco had last seen her, aside from a couple of days ago in Diagon Alley, they were in the middle of Hogwarts grounds, shouting curses and watching chaos close in around them.

She had fled without her parents, as Draco had left with his. Her parents had refused to let the Dark Lord fight alone. They had told her how much of a coward and disgrace she was, and that no matter the outcome, she was dead to them. She hadn't cried in front of them.

She was too proud to let them see that weakness, but as soon as she was alone, unsure of how she was going to cope, she had cried herself to sleep. She had never seen the fall of Voldemort at the moment it transpired, but she had seen it on one of the DVD's nestled in her bag. Back then, she had been a seventeen-year-old stick of a girl.

Short, at 5'4 with small hips, small legs, a small waist, bust and bum. Small everything. Dyed, red hair, skimming her breasts, with her natural brown roots showing and green eyes that were always full of fear and determination. Now, she had grown and evolved into a thirty-one-year-old woman.

Her legs had grown, her hips and bust too. Her waist had stayed small but she no longer looked underweight. She'd dyed her hair again and kept it maintained all these years: a darker brown than her natural hair colour. Her hair had grown and spiralled, through the force of many muggle hair products and spilt across her shoulders, down to her waist.

She had begun to use a 'sun bed' as the muggles called it, which left her lightly tanned, permanently. Or at least she had before finding the books a couple of months ago. After that point, she hadn't maintained the sun bed. With a fuller body, she wore muggle clothes that exposed her beautiful shape with class.

Her eyes raked greedily over Draco, drinking in a sight she hadn't been privy to for so long. He looked the same, only taller, more filled out in his arms and if only slightly darker than his usual alabaster skin. In the months that Voldemort had returned, she was used to seeing him in suits. Black, sharp, tailor made suits that reeked of money.

Now, he stood in a casual pair of muggle dark wash jeans and a black t-shirt. She noticed he had a faint five o'clock shadow too. "Arianna," he mumbled.

Arianna smiled, a slow breaking across her face before turning into a grin that made Draco's heart squeeze tight. "Draco," she greeted.

For the moment, the reason she was here was forgotten. The books, the DVD's, the things she needed to tell him. Even their near encounter in Diagon Alley wasn't mentioned. Instead, she just relished in the boy... No. Man- who took the heart and the virginity she had offered him so many years ago.

Who looked after her and cared for her, as she did for him when the world was dark and scary. Without thinking, she threw herself at him. With her arms wide, her bag slid to the floor and she embraced him, her arms clutching him as fiercely as she had the night they made love.

"Draco," she whispered happily.

Draco wrapped his arms around her too, his hands buried in her hair and his lips kissing her temple. "Arianna," he breathed back.

He clutched her tightly, lifting her off her feet and causing a shrill giggle to escape her lips. Draco smiled into her hair, a warmth and happiness spreading throughout his body. "It's been too long." The words didn't even encompass all the feeling and thoughts he'd wanted to express to her over the years, but for now, that was enough.

She pulled away, a grin still plastered to her face and refusing to leave. Draco returned it and quickly beckoned her inside, the pair of them falling over themselves like seventeen-year-olds once more. Arianna passed through the hallway, well aware on how to get to the parlour but on the way spotted newly added portraits, all of them being of the boy, Scorpius, whom she had seen that day in Diagon Ally.

They were all unbelievable adorable and painted at different stages of the boy's life. In fact, from what it looked like, they were yearly portraits, painted on every birthday. Arianna noticed that while Scorpius was painted with Draco in some, Narcissa in others, he was never painted with Astoria. She wondered why that was.

There was no family portrait of Draco, Scorpius and Astoria either which was accustom to every pureblood home that had a child or children. All the painted Draco, Scorpius and Narcissa's watched Arianna, some smiling, some not. In one, Scorpius waved enthusiastically and Arianna waved back shyly.

Draco followed in soon after, still smiling. "Can I get you anything?"

With her bag settled by her side and sat in the leather armchair, directly next to the large window, Arianna felt the full heat of the sun on her skin. She knew it had been warm this morning, thus her wardrobe choice of a mint green dress, frilling about her knees and square cut across her chest, but she hadn't realised how warm it truly was.

"I'll have lemonade, please," Arianna smiled.

Draco nodded, the smile on his face never easing and quickly looking to become permanent. He faintly called for Millie who apparated into the room almost instantly. Arianna held her breath, pressing her lips together. When she was younger, she was taught never to respect house elves; Draco the same.

They had both followed their parent's footsteps and gave no regards for the creatures. However, as she had grown older, she had realised how cruel and immature her behaviour was, along with every other pureblood who had the same mindset of her parents. Now, however, she didn't know where Draco's morals lay.

She didn't know how much he'd changed or what had changed, apart from his physical appearance. Startlingly, Millie beamed up at Draco, dipping only slightly at the waist in a bow. Even more surprising, Draco bowed back. Arianna lets out a rush of air that came whistling out of her teeth.

"Millie, could you please get me and Miss Locket a glass of ice cold, fresh lemonade. Thank you very much." Millie nodded happily before apparating back out of the room.

Draco turned to Arianna who had a pleasant smile on her face. "What are you grinning about over there?"

Arianna was going to answer him; tell him she was proud of him for not following in his father's footsteps. For changing and bettering himself in more ways than just his manners towards house-elves. But suddenly he was striding towards her, enveloping her in his arms and taking her up with him before kissing wildly, desperately, without breathing.

Arianna gasped her open mouth allowing Draco's probing tongue. Her fingers dug into his hair, as his did to hers. They both tugged and pulled in equal measure. His tongue slanted over hers, swiping and twirling. Arianna moaned, legs fighting to get around his hips and her nails digging into his shoulder blades through his t-shirt.

The sudden snap of apparition sounded in the room. Arianna lets out a startled gasp, wriggling to get from Draco's arms. He helped her slide to her feet, where she half hid behind his towering from. Peeking around Draco, she noticed it was Millie, looking rather ashen.

"I beg your pardon master. Millie didn't realise you were busy. Millie brought you and Miss Locket drinks."

"That's ok Millie, thank you." The small house elf nodded before apparating out of the room once more.

Arianna burst out giggling, moving from behind Draco to take her glass and a large, thirst quenching gulp from it. Draco laughed behind her, his chuckle throatier and masculine than she remembered it from their younger years. He followed suit behind her, taking his drink and drinking it almost to the bottom.

Arianna placed her glass down first, beginning to tour around the room as Draco watched her, placing his own drink down. Arianna noticed he had re-decorated. So much so, that it barely looked like how she remembered it. She noticed, however, the grand piano that sat in the far corner of the room.

It was the only familiar thing she recognised. Arianna didn't know much about pianos; didn't understand their makes or builds. But she knew this piano was beautiful. Sleek, black in colour and wide set in its frame. It stood on a platform, with a small cushioned seat before it. The keys were pristine white and the piano as a whole bore no scratches or dents of any sort.

It had been well looked after. She turned to face Draco, who had been watching her intently. He was still making sense of his whirling thoughts and feelings. He couldn't believe how much he'd missed her; didn't realise until he had seen her in Diagon Alley, obscured by the wall she had been hiding behind.

His attention had been pulled by Scorpius and it had been hard to see her and digest the differences in her appearance. To then find her standing at his door, her big green eyes staring up at him, as they did so many time when they were younger, had made his day. She was stunningly beautiful, more so now at thirty-one than seventeen.

"What are you staring at?" She teased.

"You," he answered simply.

Arianna held back a gasp. Her stomach quivered and tightened. She didn't understand what was happening between them. Why had they kissed? They were acting like long lost lovers and she'd been here less than twenty minutes. She needed to focus on why she was here, talk to him about the things in her bag. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had missed him so much.

Suddenly, she remembered a very alarming fact. "Aren't you married to Astoria Greengrass?" She asked quietly, her gut clenching because she had already kissed him without finding out.

"No. We just married as a public stunt to have Scorpius and further our lines. You know how it is," Draco replied.

Arianna peeked up at him from beneath her lashes, unsure of what to say but she needn't have said anything because, within a few long strides, Draco was across the room. He took her up in his arms again, before slamming her down on the piano. Arianna gasped, her arms clutching him as they devoured each other's mouth again.

It was a brutal kiss, full of teeth, tongue and hard lips. Before Arianna knew it, Draco was pushing up the skirt of her dress, gripping and running his hands over her thighs. Arianna moaned into Draco's mouth, her hands flying to his belt, tugging and pulling desperately. Draco seemed to get the hint, helping her undo his belt before throwing it to the floor and unzipping his trousers.

Arianna's head was all over the place, lust blossoming deep and dark in her belly. Draco lifted her once more, his large hands pulling her black thong down. He threw it in a random direction before spreading her legs. Within all the frenzied clothes stripping and desperate kissing, Arianna hadn't stopped to think what any of this meant. Where this would take her.

Within seconds, however, Draco was slamming into her. She let out a cry, her face buried into his neck and his hand cradling her head to him. His fingers ran through her curls, his thrust deep but slow, paced. It reminded her so much of the last night they'd slept together. Tears prickled in her eyes but she didn't want it. She had loved going slow with Draco, making love.

But she had missed him, was frustrated with him for never seeking her out. For not coming after her, for not realising he was in love with her. She growled, her head lifting and her hands gripping at Draco's neck. He growled back at her, his thrusts faster, harder. The piano shook, Arianna shook.

Her teeth knocked against his, her nails pulling at his top and scratching harshly at the skin of his back. "Faster," she begged.

Another growl rumbled deep from Draco's chest and Arianna couldn't seem to keep a hold of her thoughts. It was so different, sex with an adult Draco. Draco the man, with Arianna as a woman. She never knew what she wanted as a teenager; they'd both been cautious, unsure of how to handle each other or move. Now, they knew. They had experience.

Arianna knew what she wanted, what she craved, what tipped her over and sent her hurtling towards the place of no return. Draco knew how to move his hips, what angle to press, how to hold her, how to fuck her. They both loved it, both relished in the difference and the familiarity. She gave a pleasured cry as he moved her, fast as lighting and bent her over the piano, chest pressed flat against the top.

His hands gripped her hips, tight and bruising. His thighs pressed against the back of hers, the room resounding with their combined cries and the sounds of their bodies meeting. Arianna stretched, her hands gripping the other edge of the piano, pressing herself harder onto Draco, who was sure he hadn't seen anything sexier in his life.

Arianna's eyes screwed shut, her bare thighs turning red from the edge of the piano scratching at her skin, every time Draco pounded into her without mercy. Her face pressed against the piano, her sweaty forehead finding solace against the coolness. Her stomach tightened harder, the ball inside her ready to explode.

"Draco!"

Draco gritted his teeth, his nails digging tightly into Arianna's tanned skin. He was so, unbelievably close. But he wanted Arianna to finish first. He wanted to show her that he was a strong man now, not a wiry muscled teenager who couldn't go in a shag for longer than two minutes. But he didn't know how much longer he could hold out.

She was so familiar to him, yet so different. Her body was out of this world and the hair falling down her back, brushing against his fingers, surely felt like it was going to be his undoing. He always did love long hair. She was so tight and warm, so loving. Everything about her reminded him of home, of happiness.

A time of childhood, of teenagers not knowing who they were or what they wanted out of life. Draco leant over Arianna's body, inhaling her scent. Almonds and honey. He closed his eyes, pressing harder, thrusting harder. Just his name on her lips was killing him. She was getting tighter, he could feel it, and Arianna knew he was close to finishing.

She opened her mouth to tell him, to scream and cry about how hard she was going to explode for him, for her Draco. But before she could, she noticed something. Draco had stretched over her body, his hands entwining with hers on the edge of the piano. What she noticed, glinting in the sunlight and taunting her, twisting her insides and breaking her heart, was a wedding ring.

Arianna lets out a sob, a sob of betrayal, a sob of emotion that she didn't understand. To know he had willingly fucked her, touched her like she was his. But she wasn't, and he wasn't hers. He never would be. Draco halted suddenly, noticing her shaking shoulders and cries that were so pained, they couldn't be from pleasure.

He quickly pulled away, painfully tucking himself back into his jeans. "Arianna, what's wrong?" He asked urgently, tugging at her shoulders to pull her up.

Arianna shook him off, standing up and rushing around the room, trying to find her underwear. "Don't touch me," she hissed.

She shoved her thong on, sure it was on inside out and knowing it was twisted on the side. She didn't care. She ran for her bag, ready to apparate herself out of there, before Draco laid a hand on her arm, stopping her.

"What's wrong?!" He demanded.

She spun to face him, wrenching her arm away. Her face was twisted in a sneer but her cheeks were still wet with tears. "You lied! You are married!" She hissed. "You touched me and fucked me like you don't have a wife and a son who wouldn't understand why his dad had slept with another woman!"

He blanched, looking away guiltily. She covered her hand with her mouth as another cry left her throat. He turned to face her, his heart-wrenching at her devastated expression. "I'm sorry!" He whispered brokenly. "You were just suddenly _there_ and all these emotions and memories and feelings came flooding back! I don't have them with Astoria! I don't love her like I love you like I've always loved you!"

"Fuck you."

Then she was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Arianna hadn't realised the location she was thinking of until she apparated to the one place she promised herself, under any circumstances, she wouldn't return to. She landed in a heap, her thoughts so jumbled she was surprised she hadn't sliced herself in half. Her gaze swept over her once childhood home, which had one existing room.

The rest had been burnt in the search for her parents after the war, by Aurors intent on putting them away for their war crimes. Arianna never understood why she was pardoned. Something about her being too young to be consenting in the dark mark and any evil acts that had followed that.

Draco had received the same mercy, leaving them the only two out of the group of Death Eaters their age that didn't get sent to Azkaban. Draco. She let out a strangled cry for every emotion inside her she couldn't even begin to decipher. Why did he do that to her? Why did he touch her, act as if he loved her when he was married? Why did he lie?

Arianna crumpled under the questions, covering her face with her hands. She hated him. She hated her life. She hated her past, her present and any future heading her way. How could she live, knowing her life was a lie? How could she bring children into the world, marry, without knowing if it was her choice or because of the new fucking book? She didn't want to be here.

This was all fake. Suddenly, the house morphed, showing her a white ceiling. Something heavy and metal clamped around her wrists and ankles. Faces swarmed before her vision. "Arianna?"

Arianna blinked, falling back from her knees onto her arse. What the hell? She shook her head, grabbing at her bag and apparating away from the one place in the world, apart from Malfoy Manor, she didn't want to be near. She popped into existence at the Ministry of Magic, receiving a few odd looks.

She noticed that a couple of wizards on guard stepped forward before retreating back, recognising her as Arianna Locket, pureblood and rich witch. She realised that not many people just apparated in after the war, as it caused too many heart attacks and unneeded panic.

Not sure of her own plan, she took a deep breath, taking a stand on the razor thin edge of the fountain in the centre of the black tiled, cold room. She took another deep breath and pressed her wand to her neck, enhancing the volume of her voice to one of a microphone. She didn't want to repeat this; her stomach was twisting with nerves.

"Hello everyone," she greeted.

Hundreds of eyes turned upon her, most startled and confused. She sincerely hoped no one saw her as a threat and alerted someone to come and get her down. She wanted this dealt with, now.

"I have something I need to tell you all, something extremely important," she began, her voice carrying and resounding off the walls. She took a deep breath before she continued on. "Your life... All of your lives, the whole wizarding world... Is a lie."

An outraged burst of speech washed over the entire Ministry. Shouts of anger and disbelieve shot at her, demanding she ends her lies and asking what she could possibly get out of this. Was she feeling ok? Was a potion addling her brain? She quickly dug out the books from her bag, throwing them into the crowd and praying she didn't hit anyone on the head.

The DVD's followed soon after. "Our lives, the beginning and end of Voldemort," gasps washed over the room at the forbidden name. Arianna carried on, ignoring them all, "are in these pages and on those DVD's!" She shouted to the crowd.

"Impossible!"

"What are D-V-D-Z?"

"That's outrageous!"

"How could this be true?"

"Someone alert the guards!"

Arianna's eyes swept across the crowd, her ears picking up the disbelief that was so clearly etched over their faces. Her stomach prickled uneasily. No one was going to believe her. She gulped; her heart began pounding against her rib cage.

She has suddenly transported again, eyes connecting with her mothers, wide and frightened. "Arianna? Arianna are you awake?" She suddenly turned, her whole body shaking and Arianna could feel her own body convulsing as if she was having a seizure.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

Arianna opened her eyes once more, still in the Ministry. She felt wobbly and steadied herself on the edge of the fountain. How had she seen her mother? What was going on? Her heartbeat was speeding up, scaring her.

"You're crazy!" Some shouted from the crowd.

Arianna has shifted in time again. Everything was so much brighter here, white everywhere. Fuzzier. She could tell, somehow that she was further back in time than wherever she had just been.

Her mother, somehow, stood before her, scowling at a doctor. "My daughter is not crazy!"

Arianna suddenly felt herself falling, heading straight for the fountain behind her. Screams echoed around the room. It seemed to happen so slowly. It was very cliché, but it was how it was. She was sure she caught Draco's eye as she slipped. She saw her wand twirl through the air, spinning before her in a blur of thin, dark wood.

She saw her own legs fly in the air, felt the wind brush her face and heard it whistle in her ears. Her body fell into the water. The freezing cold liquid stung her skin the moment it encased her body. She slowly sank to the bottom, a burn shooting through her nostrils and down her throat as the water seeped into her, drowning her.

She realised with horror that the fountain was enchanted. It seemed ankle deep at a glance but it was as deep as a river. There was nothing slow motion about her drowning. She couldn't find it in her to try and swim. Finally, she hit the bottom and watched her hair swim around her face. Her eyes froze wide as she saw a hooded, black figure.

Was that a dementor? The thing turned its head as if it heard Arianna's thoughts and seemed to be heading straight for her. Without warning it slammed into her body, tearing her apart from the inside out. She screamed, soundlessly. Water surged down her throat, scalding her body inside out.

Without warning, she saw Harry Potter; Hermione Granger; Voldemort; The Weasley family; Dumbledore. Everything and anything that had ever been in her life surged into her body. It wracked her whole frame as a scream erupted from deep in her chest, a scream that had it been audible would have turned someone's stomach.

Her lungs burned as her hands scratched desperately at every approaching figure. It did nothing but continue to pass through them as if they were made of mist. She suddenly woke, screaming. She attempted to sit but fell back down, instantly realising she was strapped down. She twisted and turned, noticing her ankles were free. She was crying and she didn't know why.

There were people at her side instantly, muggle nurses she realised and… her parents? "Mum, dad?! How did you escape Azkaban?" Her parents exchanged looks as a nurse began to fill a syringe with liquid. "Mum? Dad?!" She shouted desperately.

Her heart was hammering, scared. Her brain buzzed. What was going on? One minute she was drowning, the next she was someone, with her, escaped parents.

"Where's Draco? Get away from me!" She screamed at an approaching nurse, thrashing wildly on the bed.

Several nurses and doctors held her down, firing instructions to one another. Her mother turned into her father's chest crying, shoulders shaking. "Mother! Help! Get my wand! My wand!"

Her mother turned to the doctor, crying as loud as Arianna. "If you sedate her she'll go back! She'll go back to that fantasy!"

"That's not the case I'm afraid."

"What are you talking about?!"

"We've noticed a pattern..."

"What do you mean? What's happening to my daughter?!" Angelina screeched, looking to her screaming daughter.

"When she goes back, her 'life' will reset. It'll be the start of her 'world'."

The needle stuck in Arianna moments later, as she tried to work out what was going on, her tears soaking her face. She cried loudly, although a mist spread throughout her entire body, forcing her to be calm. She sunk back into the pillows, her eyes heavy. She barely managed to talk to her mother. "Mum, you and dad get out of here. The Aurors will be here soon," she mumbled.

Her mother turned, gazing upon her sedated daughter. She gently edged to her bedside, her prison, as the staff dispensed. "Sweetheart," her mother's voice cracked. "There are no Aurors. No wands, no magic. You've been living in your head sweetheart. You've been here for nearly fourteen years. You're in a hospital, and everyone here's going to help you get better," she whispered, tears sliding over her cheeks.

Arianna mumbled sleepily, her mother's words lost on her. It was her first day of Hogwarts today.


End file.
